Professor Mark A. Lemley is quoted in a Biloxi Sun Herald article about "new U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) rules that would curtail abusive behavior by patent applicants and improve patent quality:"

Under current rules, which allow unlimited continuations, USPTO examiners who have repeated rejected an application often face an endless stream of continuation applications that "may well succeed in 'wearing down the examiner,' so that the applicant obtains a broad patent not because he deserves one, but because the examiner has neither the incentive nor will to hold out any longer," according to professor Mark A. Lemley of Stanford Law School ...